Many people associate tourist information centers only with maps and tips where to find a public bathroom nearby. But, for Tammy Mermelstein some of the best memories of your recent trip to Japan They came precisely from these visits to the information windows.
A resident of Houston and mother of two, Tammy spent more than a year planning the three -week family trip to Japan. Among the special souvenirs she brought, are pieces of kimono bought in a flea market and turned into wall art – but what she most likes to show is the stuffed booklet she has collected in tourist centers and attractions around the country.
Meanwhile, in parts of Europe, these centers have been disappearing gradually. Paris said goodbye to his last tourist information point, located next to the Eiffel Tower in January. Already Scotland announced that all its own will be closed by the end of 2025.
Tourism authorities in these countries point to the massive use of social networks and easy access to smartphones as the main reasons for ending face -to -face care. Now the focus has become totally digital, with a strong presence on Instagram and Tiktok, as well as the creation of channels on WhatsApp to answer specific questions from travelers.
However, while some already consider these centers a piece of the past, the scenario in Asia is quite different – there, the number of tourist service only grows.
According to Xiang Li, director of Hong Kong’s Chinese University Hospitality and Tourism School, Asian centers are still high because of the different profile of tourists in the region.
“Asian tourists, in general, value structured guidelines and human contact,” he told CNN TRAVEL . “Many still have no experience with international travel and face linguistic barriers, which makes face -to -face service much more important.”
“Europeans are more used to self -guided experiences, using both online tools and printed materials.”
In South Korea, for example, the number of tourist information centers jumped from 300 in 2015 to 638 today.
This includes the so -called “mobile tourist information centers” – employees circulating through the streets of moved neighborhoods like Myeongdong in Seoul, full of cosmetics stores and cool Instagram cafes, ready to answer questions from tourists.
These attendants wear flashy red shirts, cowboy hats and speak Chinese, Japanese or English.
“In Asia, service centers focus on interaction and hospitality, reflecting a more collective culture,” explains Xiang. “In Europe, the focus is more on information and learning, in a more individualistic context.”
And Japan is also investing heavily in this – 250 new centers opened between 2018 and 2024. The increase in the number of tourists and the need for multilingual care was the main drivers. The Japanese government aims to receive 60 million visitors per year by 2030.
But the service goes beyond translation and basic guidance. The centers in Japan became true attractions. Each has an exclusive stamp-the so-called Eki Sutanpi-and many tourists make a point of visiting them just to collect these relics.
There is even an own tourist passport to store the stamps, which can also be found at important sights such as temples, lookouts and Jr Railway train stations.
This collecting fever is called in English rally. Thai businessman Patrick Pakanan, who spent part of his childhood in Japan and speaks Japanese fluently, created the Stampquest -inspired APP in his wife, a frequent stamp collector.
Even without being a collector, he never stops passing a center of information when he visits a new region of Japan.
“It’s an excellent way to start a conversation with the places – asking what to eat, what is famous in the area, or even finding out some recommended store,” he says. “These are people who lived their entire lives there, and they really want you to know their community.”
Tammy, Houston’s mother, shares the same opinion. In addition to looking for stamps and asking for advice, she and her family spent as long in the centers and museums. In one of them, an employee taught his daughters how to write their names in Japanese. In another, someone brought kimonos for the girls to wear and still took pictures. Some places even have spaces dedicated to children play.
And even those who do not collect stamps, like Patrick, know that these centers are more than support points – they are true local guides.
“It’s like diving: you always need an instructor. The information center is your ‘dive master’ local.”
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Source: CNN Brasil
Johanna Foster is an expert opinion writer with over 7 years of experience. She has a reputation for delivering insightful and thought-provoking articles on a variety of subjects. Her work can be found on some of the top online news websites, and she is currently lending her voice to the world stock market.
